Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

Not sure if there was a specific purpose to posting the WSJ graphic on CLOs, but as a side comment they were a securitization product that worked as intended and came out of the crisis in pretty good shape for good reason. (Cash flow deals only. The market value deals got killed, but they were few relative to cash flow deals.)

The JOBS law was not a jobs bill and not what the nation needed: Just another boondoggle and giveaway with some scraps for hoi palloi to make it taste a little better.

WRT CLO demand, quite a few loans essentially backed by government (“agency” debt) and clearing smoke on the housing/credit battlefield have improved that market and led to increased mREIT formation. The more interesting ones from my POV are those run by (and also serving) business development companies — e.g., AGNC, TWO, MITT, MTGE, etc — someone searching for ways to boost yield in an income portfolio probably wouldn’t be interested in ACAS but the mREIT’s it runs might fit the bill.

‘The rise of the 401(k), dating to the early 1980s, has steadily shifted more financial responsibility onto the shoulders of many Americans who are — let’s face it — clueless.

“Managing your own money is just horrible,” said Alicia Munnell, “We just don’t know how to do it.”

This is a huge issue. Enormous strides have been made in portfolio theory. But they have not been put into accessible form, and conveyed to people who now have to manage their own money.

I’m writing a book on the subject. Some amazingly simple portfolios can produce some amazingly robust results. And I’ve got historical data back to the early 20th century to prove it.

It’s axiomatic that to extract a return in a low-yield world, one has to relentlessly cut costs. Job #1 is getting Wall Street’s sticky fingers out of your pocket. Ask your broker, ‘Where are the customers’ yachts?’

I actually didn’t see your comment before I posted mine so I was just noodling around in my own head but thanks for the clarification. I think some of the mREIT’s I mentioned may in fact serve the purpose of debt investment for the BDC that operates them which is another reason I give them a close look; my interests as an investor may, wonder of wonders, actually be aligned with those of management.

NB: It varies from day to day and post to post but the differences in time between when comment is actually posted and when it appears to visitors on this blog can really be extreme in some cases, even when logged in.

Venn Data neither of your links worked. I consider myself a moderate conservative. Still, last time the DCCC called and asked me for a donation he accused me of being an “extremist” liberal. He was screaming at me and then hung up. It’s all about the context.

Our political system being where it is,… what used to be considered moderately conservative is now viewed as “extremely” liberal. Former Reagan economist Bruce Bartlett seems like a very reasonable and sensible man to me,… but he has been thrown out of his party and seems way to the left of Obama.

I am sad for our country that it has come to this.

How one does in the stock market, without the benefit of insider information,.. seems like it has little to do with political views. There may be some points in time when one afflicts the other, but not generally.

The stock market allows us as individuals to change our situation. Politics,… unless you’re someone like the Kochs, Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon,.. you’re spitting in the wind.

Here’s what concerns me about your view,… it’s akin to the view that the Koch brothers must be “all knowing” because they are so rich. That is,… your view is akin to the conservative view that wealth confers some magical know how on every subject.

I don’t believe that ideas should only be valued based on the wealth they accrue.

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About Barry Ritholtz

Ritholtz has been observing capital markets with a critical eye for 20 years. With a background in math & sciences and a law school degree, he is not your typical Wall St. persona. He left Law for Finance, working as a trader, researcher and strategist before graduating to asset managementRead More...

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